Kohza frowned as he looked outside the carriage. They were on their way to Alubarna, but they seemed to be straying off course a little. Was it just his imagination? Deciding to ignore it for now, he pulled his head back inside and faced Kebi.
"You're nervous," his follower commented lightly. Kohza sighed.
"How could I not be? What is he going to think of me? If Vivi is right about his innocence...how can I face him?"
"Whether or not it's difficult, you're the leader of the rebellion," Kebi said sensibly. "It has to be you. It would be an even greater insult if you sent someone in your place."
"Don't you think I know that?" Kohza muttered irritably. Kebi was silent for awhile.
"Something else is bothering you," he said.
Dammit, Kohza thought. That's what happens when you're right hand man is also your childhood friend. Kebi read him way too easily...
"I just have a bad feeling," he admitted. "Like we should have announced the ceasefire to the rest of the army."
"You know what would happen if we did that," Kebi argued. "They would want an explanation, and if we released intel like that, it could reach Crocodile. That man has already manipulated us as if we were puppets tangled in strings. We can't risk it. We have to at least wait until after the negotiations so the leaders of both sides can come to an understanding."
"Yea...you're right," Kohza said reluctantly. Suddenly, the carriage stopped. Kohza and Kebi looked confused for a moment before they both climbed out to meet the steerer, who had also gotten out.
"Hey, what are we doing here?" Kebi asked, looking around. "Why'd you stop in the middle of the desert?"
The soldier kept a blank face. "I was ordered to," he stated. Kebi raised an eyebrow and looked at Kohza, who had his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"I never gave you an order like that."
The soldier smirked, causing both of the men's eyes to widen. "No, you didn't," he said as he raised his rifle.
Kohza reacted immediately, raising his leg and kicking the gun barrel to the side in one swift motion. The unloyal soldier looked surprised as the shot fired off to the side. As he tried to aim the gun back towards them, Kebi rammed into him with his shoulder, knocking him off his feet. He proceeded to kick the gun out of his hands. The solder gritted his teeth and tried to lift himself up, only to be roundhouse kicked across the face by Kohza, who then kicked the gun up into the air and caught it, aiming it directly at his assailant.
"Who are you working for?" he growled. The soldier just smirked again.
"I don't know. But he's far more intimidating than you."
"Don't screw with me!" Kohza shouted. "Who is it? Is it that damn Warlord?"
Surprisingly, this elicited a reaction from the man, whose brows furrowed. "Warlord?" he asked in confusion.
"Don't try to deny it," Kebi said. "We have intel that states he's your leader." The soldier suddenly started sweating heavily, and not from the desert heat, as his expression morphed into one of overt fear. "And judging from the look on your face, I'd say we're right."
"Hey, stop! You don't know what you're talking about!" the man shouted. Kohza wondered why he was just now showing fear when he had been unfazed with a gun pointed at him point blank.
"I think we do," Kebi said, now the one smirking. "The Royal Warlord, Sir Cro-"
"Shut up!" The man suddenly tried to lunge at Kebi. Kohza grimaced, but didn't hesitate as he shot the man directly in the head. He was dead even before he slumped back against the sand.
Kebi rubbed his eyes. "Just what was the point of all this?" he asked as he raised his arms and gestured to the barren desert around them. "Does he think we're stranded? That neither of us can drive a damn carriage through our home country?"
"Look at the tattoo on his arm," Kohza said, ignoring the rant. Kebi knelt down and looked it over, frowning.
"What is that? The mark of their organization?" he asked.
"Perhaps. But regardless of what it is, we need to keep an eye out for it. From now on, anyone in the rebel army who is seen with this mark is to be brought in for questioning." Kebi nodded as they both stood up and started towards the carriage. Kohza froze, however, as he caught sight of something, or rather someone, out in the distance. It looked like a...ballerina?
"I'm...ha...gonna...ha...ha...die..." Usopp said miserably, his sentence made choppy by endless pants.
"Not before me..." Chopper replied unenergetically as Zoro pulled him across the desert sand on a sled. The reindeer human hybrid had been reduced to a semi conscious, sizzling ball of fur. Being better suited to colder climates, he could barely walk in the desert heat.
"At least Chopper has an excuse," Sanji grumbled. "You're just being melodramatic Usopp."
"Hey, I sure as hell do have an excuse!" Usopp argued. "I've suddenly come down with 'I-can't-walk-through-the desert-anymore-or-I'll-die-itis!"
"There's no disease like that," Chopper stated matter of factly.
Sanji smirked. "You heard the doctor long-nose. Keep walking."
Usopp's jaw dropped. Chopper, you traitor! As if to make his case more convincing, Usopp suddenly collapsed backwards onto the sand, making unconvincing wheezing noises. "I can't...go on..." he groaned, raising his hand toward the hazy sky.
Zoro sighed in annoyance and walked back to him. "Don't make me carry you too. Come on, do you want to fall behind?"
"I...won't make it. Go on without me...Zoro..."
"If you say so," Zoro said with a shrug, before leaving him there in the sand and catching up with the rest of the crew.
Usopp suddenly bolted up onto his feet and ran after them. "Hey wait! Don't leave me! Zooroooo!"
"Will you calm down you idiot?" Nami reprimanded. "All you're doing is wasting energy that you should be using to walk. Keep it up and you're just going to need more water, and that's something we can't spare right now."
Sanji had to agree. Most of them weren't faring very well with the sun beating down on them. Chopper was immobile, Nami refused to let him carry her, saying he wasn't to be trusted (which was probably true, some part of his mind supplied), Usopp was...well, he was Usopp, and he himself was sweating heavily. Zoro was toughing it out, but Sanji could tell even he was at least mildly uncomfortable. The only ones who seemed to be beating the heat were Luffy, Vivi, and...well, Seal.
"You three don't seem to mind the hot climate at all," Nami commented, voicing Sanji's thoughts as she looked at the three in question.
"Well, I was born and raised on this island," Vivi said, smiling. "You could say I'm used to it. I'd imagine the same is true for Seal." Said dugong nodded confidently before flashing Nami what could be interpreted as a thumbs up...minus the thumbs.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Nami said before turning to Luffy. "But what about you? There aren't many deserts in East Blue."
"Nah, my home island had really good weather," Luffy replied. "The reason I'm fine is that I can control my body temperature." This got the attention of the rest of the crew, especially Chopper, whose head perked up in interest despite his severe discomfort.
"You mean you can keep your body temperature steady at will?" Nami asked in amazement. "Is that even possible?"
"I guess so. I do it with a technique called Life Return. It lets me stay cool in the heat or warm in the cold...among other things."
"Life Return?" Chopper repeated in wonder. "Come to think of it, you were walking around Drum Island in nothing but a t-shirt! Were you using the same thing back then?"
Luffy nodded. "Yep, that's right."
"But what kind of technique is that?" Chopper asked. His discomfort seemed to be momentarily forgotten, overshadowed by his interest in the medical phenomenon. "It almost sounds like a type of biofeedback."
"Bio feed who?" Luffy asked, his mouth suddenly watering at the thought of being fed.
"Biofeedback," Chopper corrected. "It's an ability that a select few people can access through meditation and mental discipline. It allows them to achieve a higher degree of control over the body by exploiting its biological connection to the mind, gaining a greater awareness of bodily functions that most humans wouldn't be conscious of, and in turn being able to regulate them."
"Hmm, hmm," Luffy said, nodding sagely. "Fascinating."
"You didn't understand a word he said, did you?" Zoro inferred.
"Nope."
"What's wrong with you?" Nami asked in exasperation. "He's saying that biofeedback is the scientific explanation for the technique you use, one which you evidently don't understand."
Luffy stared at her, the conspicuous lack of comprehension evident on his blank face.
"Basically it's a mystery technique Luffy," Zoro added.
"Ah," Luffy said, smacking his hand with his fist. "Why didn't you just say so?" Nami looked extremely annoyed now, whereas Chopper was in deep thought.
"Luffy," the reindeer suddenly spoke up. "What else can you do with that technique?"
Luffy thought for a moment. "A lot of things actually. For one, I can eat until I'm really fat and then turn all the food into pure muscle and energy. That's really useful before a fight. In fact, if I'm injured, it'll heal me to an extent."
Chopper looked like he was in candy land. His eyes were shining. "That's amazing! You're manipulating the enzymes in your body in order to convert the nutrients in the food to suit your needs! From the sound of it, you can even speed up digestion! How did you learn to do that!?"
Luffy scratched his head. "I just sort of...did it one day," he admitted. Come to think of it, when was the first time he did that? Was it in Impel Down? No, maybe Shabondy? He remembered healing injuries by eating meat since after his first fight with Crocodile, but that wasn't really an effect of the technique. Life Return just let him do it faster.
"What else can you do?" Chopper asked eagerly.
"Well, I can increase my resistance to pain and fatigue..."
"So you can actively release adrenaline into your system?"
"Yea, let's go with that. I think I can also counteract some types of poison..."
"By forcing your immune system to create specific types of antibodies?"
"Sure, why not. Other than that, it does let me automatically activate my gears, and it also lets me maintain them longer."
"Gears?" Sanji interrupted. "What are those?"
"They're ways that I can enhance my fighting style by taking advantage of my rubber body. Like this." Steam suddenly started rising from his body, which took on a red tint. Chopper's jaw dropped as he sat up.
"Luffy! You're showing signs of a dramatic increase in heart rate!" he said in a panicked tone. Luffy just nodded as he continued smiling.
"Yep, that's Gear Second. It increases my strength and speed." The crew looked on in amazement. The one who was most impressed by far was Seal, who shouted a series of high pitched barks that was unintelligible to anyone other than Chopper...and evidently, Luffy.
"No, I can't teach you that. The only reason my body can withstand it is because I'm made of rubber." Seal looked deeply disappointed as he let out a noise akin to a sigh.
Chopper's medical mind was going haywire. "Are you insane, Luffy!? Even if the increased blood flow enhances your bodily performance in the short term, the long term effects could be catastrophic! You're putting way too much stress on your body!"
"Ah, it's fine Chopper. When I first started using it it was exhausting, but now my body is much tougher. Plus, with Life Return I can control how much I increase the blood flow, and choose which part of my body to direct the blood to. Like my muscles, or even a single limb." Actually, when he first started using it, he didn't realize that the blood was being distributed evenly throughout his body. It was before the crew was separated in Shabondy that Chopper had informed him that most of the extra blood he was pumping through his body was being wasted when he fought.
"Luffy! You're still in Gear Second as you're talking! Stop doing that!" Chopper shouted indignantly. Luffy, realizing that he was right, quickly deactivated the technique.
"So is there a Gear Third then?" Sanji asked curiously. Luffy grinned.
"You bet!" He raised his arm, and the limb started to expand before their very eyes, until it was the size of a giant's. The crew, minus Zoro, looked on in shock. Usopp stumbled back. Seal pulled a quick 180 and was in awe again.
"What the hell!? Your arm crew!" Usopp shouted.
"Yep, because I inflated my bones. Cool huh?" The crew stared dumbly and he laughed, shrinking his arm back down to normal size.
"So is there another one after that, or is that the limit?" Usopp asked, his curiosity beyond piqued at this point.
Luffy might have answered him, but Vivi chose that moment to point out a large rock formation that they could use for shade. The crew immediately rushed over to the rock, Usopp forgetting his own question entirely.
"Man, it really is hot out here," Nami complained. "I wish we had something to ride. Like a camel maybe."
"Not all of us would fit on a camel though," Vivi pointed out.
"You're right," Nami admitted. "A camel that only gave rides to us girls would be nice."
Vivi's brow furrowed. "What kind of camel is that?" Nami shrugged.
"Is the plan in motion, Miss All Sunday?" Crocodile asked. His tone contained a hint of impatience.
"It is," his partner agent replied. "Mr. 2 has reported that his infiltration was successful."
"Good. Then our rebel friends should be arriving any minute now," Crocodile stated, turning around in his chair to face her. "Make sure they're comfortable with our other guests. We're moving ahead of schedule. Tomorrow, we move into Alubarna."
Miss All Sunday's features were carefully blank as she nodded. "Yes sir."
A/N: Looks like things are starting to heat up in Alabasta. Pun intended. In case it was unclear, Luffy was using Life Return, a technique utilized by CP9, since before the timeskip in this fic. I decided to use that to explain some of his quirkier abilities as well as open up opportunities for future techniques. Until next time. Lost out.